CN1199507C - Portable communication terminal and its automatic answering method - Google Patents

Abstract

In the portable communication terminal, there are voice communication control means for performing voice communication, data communication control means for performing data communication, information storage means for storing information of character data, and data communication when a call is received. The control means extracts the character data information stored in the information storage unit to transmit an electronic mail including the information to the electronic mail address of the calling party.

Description

Portable communication terminal and its automatic answering method

technical field

The present invention relates to a portable communication terminal having a voice communication function and a data communication function, and a method of automatically answering by the same portable communication terminal.

Background technique

In recent years, communication terminals such as portable telephones and PHS (Personal Handy System) are popular. Portable communication terminals are very convenient for users to communicate anywhere, but voice communication using portable terminals in crowded places will cause pauses. When a call is received, it often happens that the user is unable to answer the call in voice communication.

When a voice call is received under an environment where voice communication is impossible or difficult, it is difficult for the user who has received the call to explain the state in which he cannot perform voice communication with the sender. In current communication services using portable communication terminals, when a called user is unable to perform voice communication, the calling party knows the status of the called party by preparing in advance a voice announcement at a base station providing the same service.

However, in the method using such prepared distribution, since the contents of the transmitted message are fixed, the calling party cannot know the details of the called party user. Therefore, even when it is possible to take appropriate steps according to the called party user's situation, for example, calling again or waiting for a call back from the called party user, the calling party cannot take appropriate steps.

Specifically, there are various situations where the called party user cannot answer the call, including that the user cannot use the portable terminal because the portable terminal is not at the user's side (user absent situation), the user cannot operate the portable terminal, or Communicate with the calling party because of interference or driving (corresponding to impossible conditions). If the detailed message to the calling party can be set according to the called party user's situation, for example, like a valid message, if it is not known when the called party will return, the called party user will call back immediately when he returns, or If the conference completion time is exact, he knows the possible communication time, and the called party user wants the calling party to call again at the specified time, so that the calling party can save troublesome guesswork.

As described above, according to the communication service system using the conventional portable communication terminal, when the user who has received the call cannot perform voice communication, the device of the calling party who knows the situation of the called party user is only the information of the fixed content prepared in advance , therefore, the caller cannot take effective steps to

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable communication terminal capable of appropriately notifying another party of the user's situation by e-mail, in which case it is difficult for the user of the portable terminal to perform voice communication, and to provide Terminal communication service system.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a kind of portable communication terminal has speech communication control means, is used for carrying out speech communication, is characterized in that:

The message storage device stores a plurality of messages according to the message category;

A personal information storage device that stores the caller's caller number, email address, and designated message category in association;

The data communication control device, when it is impossible to answer the call, the data communication control device retrieves the information stored in the above-mentioned personal information storage device attached to the call message with the caller number as the key code, and retrieves the relevant When calling the number of the calling party, the above-mentioned e-mail address associated with the calling party number is used as the name and address of the recipient, and the e-mail containing the message corresponding to the above-mentioned message category stored in the above-mentioned message storage device is sent out .

According to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic answering method of a portable communication terminal, the portable communication terminal has a voice communication control device for performing voice communication, and a data communication control device for performing data communication, characterized in that,

storing a plurality of messages in the information storage means according to message categories,

Store the calling party's calling party number, e-mail address and designated message category in the personal information storage device in an associated manner,

When it is impossible to answer the call, the above-mentioned data communication control device searches the information stored in the above-mentioned personal information storage device with the calling party number as the key code attached to the calling message, and when the relevant calling party's number is retrieved, sending an email containing the message corresponding to the message category stored in the message storage means using the email address associated with the calling party number as the recipient's name and address.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication service system used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural block diagram of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of personal information used in the embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the structure of the base station of the embodiment.

Figure 5 is a flowchart of the operation of an embodiment upon call arrival.

Detailed ways

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well known structures have not been shown in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication service system using a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the system includes a portable terminal 10 used and carried by a user and a base station 20 providing communication services to the portable communication terminal.

In FIG. 1, although only two portable communication terminals 10 and one base station 20 are shown for simplicity of description, actually there are a plurality of terminals and base stations. The two portable terminals 10 have the same structure, and there is no difference between them in the following schematic description. Only when it is necessary to distinguish between the calling party and the called party in describing the communication operation, the portable terminal of the calling party is represented as portable terminal 10a, and the portable terminal of the called party is represented as portable terminal 10b.

A plurality of base stations 20 are connected to each other so that the communication of the presence of the portable communication terminal 10 can be performed not only within the range of one base station 20 . Specifically, a predetermined portable communication terminal 10 is connected to a predetermined base station 20 , and other predetermined portable communication terminals 10 are connected to other predetermined base stations 20 . The connection between the two base stations 20 enables communication between the two portable communication terminals 10 to be performed through the two base stations 20 .

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the portable communication terminal 10 and the base station 20 perform voice communication and data communication in one communication method. Here, the voice communication function means real-time communication in natural language. The data communication function means communication using digital signals without sound.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of the portable terminal 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. With reference to Fig. 2, the portable communication terminal of present embodiment comprises main control unit 11, is used for controlling whole operation, voice communication control unit 12, is used for providing voice communication function, data communication control unit 13, is used for providing data communication function, message Storage unit 14 for storing messages of character data when the user is unable to answer a call, personal information storage unit 15 for registering or storing personal information, wireless communication control unit 16 for controlling wireless communication, main line 17, operation unit 18, for inputting data or commands, and a display unit 19, for displaying each kind of information. Needless to say, although not shown, it also includes various components used in voice communication, for example, a microphone for inputting sound and a speaker for outputting voice.

Based on input received from the operation unit 18, the main control unit 11 performs general communication processing such as connecting to other portable communication terminals 10 and displaying connection status etc. on the display unit 19, regardless of voice communication or data communication. In addition, a process of confirming registered information by checking personal information and arrival information described later is performed by the main control unit 11 .

The voice communication control unit 12 performs necessary processing for realizing voice communication, for example, encoding an input voice and decoding a received voice signal to supply a voice.

The data communication control unit 13 performs processing necessary to realize data communication, for example, receiving operation input from the operation unit 18 and displaying received data on the display unit 19 . E-mails including messages described later are transmitted under the control of the data communication control unit 13 .

For example, the main control unit 11, the voice communication control unit 12, and the data communication control unit 13 are realized by a program-controlled CPU. These units can be physically formed by the same CPU.

The message storage unit 14 stores messages of character data to be sent to a calling party who has placed a call to this terminal or another number associated with the calling party established as a forwarding destination according to predetermined conditions. E-mails including messages are sent under the control of the data communication control unit 13 . For example, a message of character data stored in the message storage unit 14 can be received using a data input operation of the operation unit 18 . Messages of multiple character data can be stored, and the content of each message can be selected according to the situation of the called party. For example, multiple messages are stored together with the message number (type), message 1: "I'm occupied, so, I'll call you later", message 2: "I can't answer the phone because of mobile", message 3: " I am in a meeting", the requested information can be sent by e-mail through the specified information number. That is, when the above-mentioned messages 1, 2, and 3 are stored in the message storage unit 14 and arranged, the message 2 will return at the time of driving, even if a call arrives during driving, the user cannot operate the portable communication terminal 10, and the user cannot operate the portable communication terminal 10 during the call. After the party turns off the power, the portable communication terminal that has received the call automatically sends a message 2 of character data to the calling party by e-mail.

The personal information storage unit 15 stores information with respect to a destination place to send a message of the character data stored in the message storage unit 14 . Fig. 3 is an example showing personal information. Referring to FIG. 3, personal information includes registered user's ID information (registered name). User's phone number, email address, forwarding destination address for forwarding, message type (message number).

For example, the message storage unit 14 and the personal information storage unit 15 may be realized by RAM or other internal memories. They may physically consist of the same memory.

The wireless communication control unit 16 transmits and receives radio waves between the base stations 20 through the antenna, and encodes transmitted radio waves and decodes received radio waves.

The operating unit 18 has number keys and special command keys, which are used for dialing communication parties, inputting data, switching modes, and the like.

For example, the display unit 19 is implemented by a liquid crystal display, which notifies the user about the status of connection to other portable communication terminals 10 and the base station 20, and displays data (text data) received by the data communication function.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the base station 20. As shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, the base station 20 includes a switching unit 21 for controlling lines in voice communication, and a server 22 for controlling communication in data communication. The server 22 receives and stores the data sent by the portable communication terminal 10, and sends the data to the portable communication terminal 10 which is the destination of the same data. The portable communication terminal 10 can access the server 22, inquire of its own predetermined data, and obtain the same data from the stored data. As shown in FIG. 4, servers 22 are connected to other servers 22 through the Internet. Therefore, when the portable communication terminal 10 existing as the destination place of the stored data is out of the wireless communication range of the current base station, the same data can be transmitted to the portable communication terminal through other base stations 20 capable of wireless communication with the same portable communication terminal 10 10.

The operation of this embodiment is described below.

The described operation will assume that the portable communication terminal 10a places a call for voice communication to the portable communication terminal 10b, and the user of the called party's portable communication terminal 10b is in a state where voice communication cannot be performed. In this case, as an initial setting, the portable communication terminal 10b is set in a messaging mode for answering a call by electronic mail. Messages scheduled according to various situations are stored in message storage unit 14 of portable communication terminal 10b, and personal information shown in FIG. 3 is stored in personal information storage unit 15.

The operation at the called party's portable communication terminal 10b will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 . When receiving a call, the user of the terminal is absent or in a position that cannot be answered. When the calling party's call is disconnected, according to the control of the main control unit 11, the portable communication terminal 10b that has received the call first confirms the calling party's Whether the number (telephone number of the calling party's portable communication terminal 10a) is attached to the arrival information (step 501). When the phone number is not part of the arrival information, the process will end without any message being returned by email (step 502).

If the telephone number belongs to the arrival information, according to the control of the main control unit 11, check whether the personal information registered in the terminal is the calling party's telephone number (step 503), when no telephone number is registered in the terminal, the process will end without Any messages are returned by email (step 504).

When the telephone number belongs to the arrival information registered in the personal information, according to the control of the main control unit 11, it is checked whether the personal information is provided with an e-mail address (step 505). When the e-mail address is registered, an e-mail including the character data message stored in the message storage unit 14 is sent to the designated e-mail address (step 506). The message to be sent at this time is selected according to the state of the user of the portable communication terminal 10b.

When the calling party has not registered an e-mail address in step 505, it is confirmed whether the calling party has registered a forwarding destination address (step 507).

When the transfer destination address is registered, an electronic mail including the character data message stored in the message storage unit 14 is sent to the designated transfer destination address (step 508). The message to be sent at this time is selected according to the state of the user of the portable communication terminal 10b.

Furthermore, it is confirmed whether or not a transfer destination address for transfer to the called party (user of portable communication terminal 10b) is set (step 509).

When transfer is set, information including the caller's arrival time, the caller's registered name taken from the personal information, and the caller's phone number when the voice call arrives is added to the arrival information and sent to the called party's transfer destination email address (step 510). Therefore, information including the caller's arrival time, the caller's registered name taken out from the personal information, the caller's phone number of the voice call arrival time is added to the transfer destination address of the arrival information sent by e-mail to the called party, so , so that the user of the terminal can receive the above-mentioned transferred e-mail through the communication device instead of the portable communication terminal, and confirm the arrival of the call scheduled by the user himself. For example, the arrival of a call can be determined by a personal computer in the office.

Specifically, if a call signal whose registration name is "Shibuya" is received from the portable communication terminal 10a, when the calling party's telephone number is added to the arrival information (see step 501), the corresponding record is in the personal information ( See step 503), and only the email address is registered. Therefore, e-mails including character data messages are sent only to the corresponding e-mail address shibuya@mail (see steps 505 and 506).

If a call signal whose registered name is "Harajuku" is received from the portable communication terminal 10a, when the calling party's telephone number is added to the arrival information (see step 501), the corresponding record is in the personal information (see step 503) , the e-mail address and transfer destination address are registered. Accordingly, an email including the message is sent to the corresponding email address hara@mail and forwarding destination address fwd@mail (see steps 505 and 508).

As mentioned above, although the present invention has been described based on the example of the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the example of the above embodiment. For example, in the embodiment, when a call is received in voice communication, although the description is based on the transmission schedule character data message or e-mail to the calling party, if the e-mail (data communication) is received in the portable communication terminal 10b, personal information can also be taken out, when the address of the calling party of this e-mail is registered in the personal information according to the e-mail address Automatically returns or transfers emails from the terminal when Return and Transfer is set in the message.

This can automatically return e-mails or transfer scheduled e-mails for the terminal to another communication device such as another site of the company when the user is away, and effectively handle malicious calls.

In addition, a function of obtaining location information such as GPS (Global Positioning System) may be provided at the portable communication terminal 10, thus returning the location information of the portable communication terminal 10 to the calling party who made the call or sending an e-mail to the same portable communication terminal 10.

In addition, patients with medical devices can carry portable communication terminals together. In order to connect the medical device to the portable communication terminal 10. If the portable communication terminal 10 is arranged to acquire the data of the medical device, the data of the medical device can be transferred to the calling party at the remote station by calling or sending an e-mail to the portable communication terminal 10 .

As described above, according to the portable communication terminal of the present invention and the communication service system using the same portable communication terminal, when the user of the called party is not in the position to answer the call, an electronic mail including a character data message is sent to the electronic mail address of the calling party or transfer destination address, thus properly informing the other party of one's situation. Therefore, according to the information of the e-mail sent to the calling party, the calling party can take appropriate steps.

In addition, e-mails with the caller's arrival time, the caller's registered name taken from the personal information, the caller's telephone number of the voice call arrival time can be transferred to the transfer destination address of the called party, thus allowing the user of the terminal to The above-mentioned transferred e-mail is received through the communication device instead of the portable communication terminal, and the arrival of the user's own call is confirmed.

While the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, deletions and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but should include all the embodiments within the included range and the contents equivalent to the features.

Claims (10)

1. A portable communication terminal has a voice communication control device for performing voice communication, characterized in that: The message storage device stores a plurality of messages according to the message category; A personal information storage device that stores the caller's caller number, email address, and designated message category in association; The data communication control device, when it is impossible to answer the call, the data communication control device retrieves the information stored in the above-mentioned personal information storage device attached to the call message with the caller number as the key code, and retrieves the relevant When calling the number of the calling party, the above-mentioned e-mail address associated with the calling party number is used as the name and address of the recipient, and the e-mail containing the message corresponding to the above-mentioned message category stored in the above-mentioned message storage device is sent out . 2. The portable communication terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The personal information storage device is also stored in association with the forwarding email address information category of the designated calling party; The data communication control means, when it is impossible to answer the call, uses at least one of the above-mentioned e-mail address associated with the calling party number and the above-mentioned forwarding e-mail address as the name and address of the recipient, including the above-mentioned Emails of messages corresponding to the above message categories stored in the message storage device are sent out. 3. The portable communication terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the transfer destination address of the called party is set, the data communication control device sends the arrival information including the telephone number of the calling party and the arrival time of the calling party to the transfer destination address of the called party in the form of e-mail. 4. The portable communication terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the caller number is not added to the calling message, the data communication control device ends the processing without sending an electronic mail including the message. 5. The portable communication terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the corresponding caller number is not retrieved from the personal information storage device, the data communication control device ends processing without sending an electronic mail including a message. 6. An automatic answering method of a portable communication terminal, said portable communication terminal has a voice communication control device for performing voice communication, and a data communication control device for performing data communication, characterized in that, storing a plurality of messages in the information storage means according to message categories, Store the calling party's calling party number, e-mail address and designated message category in the personal information storage device in an associated manner, When it is impossible to answer the call, the above-mentioned data communication control device searches the information stored in the above-mentioned personal information storage device with the calling party number as the key code attached to the calling message, and when the relevant calling party's number is retrieved, sending an email containing the message corresponding to the message category stored in the message storage means using the email address associated with the calling party number as the recipient's name and address. 7. by the automatic answering method of portable communication terminal according to claim 6, it is characterized in that: In the personal information storage device, store the category of the forwarding email address of the calling party in association; The data communication control device, when it is impossible to answer the call, uses at least one of the above-mentioned e-mail address associated with the calling party number and the above-mentioned forwarding e-mail address as the name and address of the recipient, and includes Emails of the above messages corresponding to the specified message categories are sent out. 8. by the automatic answering method of portable communication terminal according to claim 6, it is characterized in that: When the transfer destination address of the called party is set, the data communication control device sends the arrival information including the telephone number of the calling party and the arrival time of the calling party to the transfer destination address of the called party in the form of e-mail. 9. By the automatic answering method of the portable communication terminal according to claim 6, it is characterized in that: When the calling party number is not added to the call message, the process ends without sending an e-mail including the message. 10. by the automatic answering method of portable communication terminal according to claim 6, it is characterized in that: When the corresponding caller number has not been retrieved from the personal information storage device, the process ends without sending an electronic mail including a message.

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